Success in series racing depends on success in individual races of a series. The basic requirements are a Competent Skipper and crew, Boat Speed equivalent to that of the upper 20 percent of the fleet, and a clear understanding of the overriding strategic and tactical principles. Experience must provide the ability to start in Clear Air, take advantage of wind and current variations to windward, round marks effectively, achieve top speed, and use wind shifts appropriately on the runs.
Racing against crews with these abilities, all capable of winning individual races your own success depends on consistency, avoiding mistakes and patiently recovering from errors of judgement which depend primarily your own psychological approach.
Confidence provides the determination to prepare properly, to sail effectively, to avoid major errors and to place well repeatedly. Confidence coupled with Mental Toughness prevents distraction by immediate tactical problems and permits concentration upon the outcome of the race and the series.
Victory at this level requires more than adapting to different conditions, more than boat speed in light and heavy air, more than windward and reaching ability, more than a combination of tactical and strategic skills because such skills, both individually and in combinations is possessed by most of the competitors. The regular application, leg after leg, race after race, is possible for only a few.
Only a few sailors are able to free themselves sufficiently from preoccupation with all the tactical situations and boat speed problems to concentrate on the predominant.
Elements of Strategy. Losers are unable to follow a plan-because they do not establish one, because they make one inconsistent with their abilities, or because they become so preoccupied that they neglect it. They shift rapidly from one concern to another: Is the mainsail set right? Will the spinnaker go up cleanly? Will the boat on the lee bow force them about? Being so busy, they miss the things that matter and so lose and, being so busy, hardly notice that they are losing-until it is too late. In contrast, the single-minded determination of the series winner is as recognizable as is his past record. He/she is consistent because he is not bogged down in a mire of doubt, indecision, and distraction. They do well in every race, in part because their attention is constantly upon the things that matter, in part because almost no one else’s attention is.
Those who do not have this self-contained, non-distractible personality can acquire it. Practice and experience, which provides skill and understanding also, provides Confidence eventually. With confidence, the minute-by-minute management of the yacht can be ignored and attention focused upon the determinants of victory. The overriding factor in each portion of the race is recognized; the most likely major error is understood. The probability of success is greatly increased and the risk of disaster is greatly reduced. Consistency is the result.
The fastest boat on the water is often not the winner as boat speed in excess of the competition's, awareness of strategic factors unknown to the majority, dramatic maneuvering skills, are unnecessary advantages are crutches for the diffident. Although they should be acquired and treasured, they must be ignored once the race is under way. To become preoccupied by them is to admit that if they were not available, if they were to be acquired by others, the series would be lost.
Major series are sometimes won by Specialists. Their ability to do dramatically well in a particular condition or on a particular leg of the course provides the assurance of success that permits them to concentrate on essentials. More often the series winner has all round capabilities, perfected with the support of innate confidence and determination. Paul Elvstrom seems daring to the un-initiated as he is so certain of his strategic understanding that he tacks directly to the new lay line when he suspects a persistent shift. His books reveal the attitudes which determine his success: belief in his own abilities, fanatic determination to be the best in every respect, disregard - sometimes scorn - for his competitors. He sails All Out, All the Time, never letting up whether ahead or astern.
